Of Burqas and Bikinis

I was visiting with some very good friends this evening. They are Americans living in the Middle East doing humanitarian work specializing in clean water and women's counseling. At one point the discussion turned to life in the M.E. and dress codes. That is when she said the most provocative statement:

"Sometimes I go out in the full head scarf and face covering. I think that when it is a chosen fashion style it is not oppressive, but can be quite beautiful."

Mind you, this is a woman who is very emancipated and seeks to empower women. She does not take any patronizing from anyone and could easiily be described as fiercely independent. So her statement came as quite a surprise. Just another reason to find this couple so much fun.

As I turned this phrase over in my mind it occurreed to me that just seeing someone's eyes can be such a powerful, and beautiful sight. It has been said that the eyes are "the window to the soul" and I couldn't agree more. We communicate so much with our eyes.

Then I thought about dress in the west. How many women are actually oppressed by societal pressure to wear bikinis or other revealing outfits? Isn't it possible that in seeking empowerment, many women succomb to societal pressure and are thus in a very real way being oppressed? No where is this more borne out than in the porn industry.

Porn wants to pass itself off as the opposite of the burqa not only in the amount of skin that is shown, but in what it is meant to represent. The reality is that nude and semi-nude women (and men) are being oppressed and abused. http://www.thepinkcross.org/

Coming full circle I am inclined to agree with my friend. A woman who chooses to cover herself can be very beautiful and in exercising that choice she is fully emancipated.  Ironically, it would seem women who reveal themselves out of compulsion or societal pressure are as oppressed as those in the Middle East who are forced to cover themselves. What do you think?